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Thursday, 13 October 2016

World Mental
Health Day on Monday 10th October was marked by the London and Home
Counties branch of the British Psychological Society with an event at the
London College of Fashion on Mental Health Issues in the Fashion and Creative
Industries. The evening was chaired by
Dr Carolyn Mair, - CPsychol, AFBPsS. Carolyn was wearing both of her ‘hats’ for
this event; one as Subject Director of Psychology at London College of Fashion
and the other as Chair of the British
Psychological Society’s London & Home Counties branch

The diverse
panel represented both fashion, Caryn
Franklin - MBE, MSc, Professor of Diversity in Fashion, Kingston University and
Rosie Nelson, model and health advocate, and mental health professionals, Dr
David O'Flynn - Consultant Psychiatrist at South London & the Maudsley NHS
Foundation Trust with a special interest in the Arts and Dr Annmarie Rankin -
Clinical Psychologist at Chelsea and Westminster hospital in the field of
paediatrics and a former ballerina with, among others, the Royal Ballet
Company.

Carolyn began
the evening with an introduction to the issues that WMHD is aiming to address
in promoting discussion around mental health and what we can do to support
mental wellbeing. The extent of the problem specifically in the world of
fashion was highlighted by a report in Dazed magazine which cited that whilst
one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year that
increases by 25 percent if you’re working in creative job. The panel explored existing mental health
issues in the fashion and the arts. The emphasis was on the toll that the
demands of the fashion and creative industries can have on the wellbeing of
employees and consumers.

The pressures
of working the fashion industry with long hours, high expectations to create
the next big thing, the stress of balancing the creative drive with the
business of making money and the demands of being ultra-thin, were all touched
on during the evening.

Four main
themes emerged:

Body
image and eating disorders, the impact on models and the general population and
similar issues in dancers. How can we change this?

“Stigma
is all of us. In speaking out I’m standing up for others.”

Rosie
Nelson

The
relationship between mental health and creativity, the negative view of
tortured genius. How art can help.

“Art
makes people better” Dr
David O'Flynn

What
we as consumers of fashion can do, diversity, sustainability, outsider fashion.

“Trends
are Choices” Dr Annmarie Rankin

The
potential for harnessing fashions power to enhance well-being both inside and
outside the industry.

“We
have enormous power to embolden and make a significant contribution.” Caryn
Franklin

Rosie shared how
working in fashion as a model impacted her mental health, the constant pressure
to be thinner, to question what was wrong with her body and how widespread the
issue is. Many models are still children when they begin their careers, a time
when they are forming their identity. Rosie has chosen to speak out about this
issue but acknowledges how tough it is to do so. The panel attempted to come up
with ways in which the tiny sample size that all models are expected to fit
into could be changed. It would take the whole business of fashion to agree and
there is no cohesive organisation that would be able to take that decision.

The fashion
world’s responsibility for eating disorders and body-shaming was spoken about
at length by the panellists. Annemarie commented that the fashion industry
doesn’t cause eating disorders; they are more complex than this. Body image is a fundamental part of our sense of self and our
identity, the fashion world needs to recognise the responsibility they have to
use this influence in a positive way and become part of the solution, rather
than being the problem. Rosie is pushing for new laws in the UK to promote a
healthier modelling industry.

Annmarie drew
upon her experience as a young dancer to comment on the effects of body image
and self-esteem. Importantly she drew
attention to the fact that BMI, and low body weight are not always indicators
of poor mental health; it is possible to be a fit, emotionally healthy dancer and
be very slim. Annmaire also shared positive stories of dance being utilised to
assist well-being. There are many studies which support the role of dance to
increase well\-being from both the position of participating in dance practise and
as a spectator.

David is Chair of the Adamson Collection Trust, Patron
of Raw Material Music & Media, Co-Founder/Director of Innovations in
Investigating Mental Health Population Outcomes (IIMHPO) and Trustee/Company
Director of the Bethlem Gallery. He shared his views on the way in which
creativity can be a contributing factor in recovering from mental ill-health,
echoing Grayson Perry’s statement that -

“Art should not be viewed just as a visual culture but
as an essential human process of self exploration and communication”

In order to
develop innovative strategies to deal with the issue of mental health in the
fashion and creative industries it would seem to make sense to harness our
natural assets, to get in touch with our creativity and reassess our own
measures of success. These are values that Caryn explained were fundamental to
her role as ‘Fashion Agitator’ to reform from within the business of fashion.
She advocates that consumers seize their power and shop according to the values
that they hold. Perhaps if we squeeze hard enough; apply pressure from the
bottom up with which trends we choose to buy into, and target those public
figures who have the ability to change from the top down, a balanced diverse
version of fashion will reflect the art of caring. The many high profile fashion insiders who
have experienced mental health issues could begin to challenge the stigma by
sharing their stories in a manner which
shows that it is possible to recover and maintain a prominent position in the industry
(of fashion). We hear of the tales of severe breakdown that has led to the sad
deaths of some fashions most creative talents, such as McQueen, but where are
the accounts of how it is possible to creatively traverse the inherent stress
of the business of fashion?

On balance much
of the discussion was around the negative impact of being involved in fashion.
There was little dialogue as to how being involved in the arena of fashion can
be a force for positive well-being, or how as an industry it is attempting to
take care of the well-being of those inside. What can we do to create a culture
of positive mental health that could well lead the way to other industries? As
creativity is at the heart of what fashion’ is’ how can we apply those same
skills to providing innovative imaginative interventions to provide solutions
to the problems that working and studying in fashion appears to produce. And
how does fashion education prepare its students to enter this ‘unhealthy’
world?

Questions
from the audience followed the panel debate. The final question was how can we
de-stigmatize mental health?” This gave David the chance to highlight how the
way in which HIV treatment is now so effective that the physical impact from
the condition can be mitigated where-as the damage done to individuals suffering
from HIV, is because of the “fear of the other”; the impact on their mental
health. That is shocking fact. We need to create a society where by openness
takes away the power of the secrecy of mental illness, where we can talk about
our own struggles without being scared of the repercussions. And the fashion
and creative industries can influence this.

This enlightening event highlighted
that diversity is alive and kicking in the creative industries, we just need to
tap into it in order to create well-being. The event was summed up visually
with a creative and colourful graphic representation by Pen Mendonca. I feel
that the strongest element in her depiction is “ART AN HELP”. It can and it does. Let’s celebrate that.

Reflecting on
the event I recalled a comment made at a previous seminar at LCF, Tim Lomas,
positive psychology lecturer at University of East London, issued a statement
on the power of fashion to drive change:

“The most damaging thing
is to think that a situation can’t be changed or challenged, and we can
challenge and change situations through fashion.”

I left LCF on
Monday evening with an even stronger desire to bring about change through the
vehicle of fashion.

Sunday, 2 October 2016

Here’s why I believe that studying MAPP(CP) will REMAP your life and produce copious amounts of wellbeing:(Martin Seligman - PERMA)

I am halfway through my MAPP(CP)
journey, I have been collecting together my reflections on the last six months and thought
I’d ask my fellow Mappsters for their thoughts on studying Applied Positive Psychology at UEL.

Relationships:

Positive relationships are at the heart of a life of wellbeing. Partners, friends,
family, colleagues, those people you regularly spend time with. The time and
energy you invest in cultivating significant relationships will manifest in a
life of greater wellbeing. Basically it’s other people who increase our
happiness.

I have found the main benefit to my wellbeing from being part of this MAPP
tribe has been to do with relationships; I have never meet a more supportive
bunch of people whose curiosity, intelligence, kindness and drive enthuses me for
the future of PP. I cannot wait to see the results that my colleagues produce
with their research and how their ideas will develop into tangible ways to
further wellbeing.

“You'll meet the best people ever.” Angie

We are also in an enviable position to have great staff who produce exciting
research and are enthusiastic about the students’ areas of study; they create a
sense of belonging to a discipline that ‘practices what they preach.’

“If you have any
concern, email Rona. She is the kindest and the most helpful teacher I have
met.” Lucie

However, as
Andrew pointed out, the structure of the course doesn’t allow for much time on
campus to interact. We all have our own ways around this, Andrew suggested we:

“Talk to each other. Use
the Facebook group (or another one you create for yourself) to debate or share
ideas and articles. Also, consider using something other than Facebook (e.g.
Slack) because Facebook is really bad for you!”

I have found
setting up a slack group works for my
group. We have organised it so that we have threads for events, sharing
papers, posting where we are supposed to be when on campus and a gratitude thread.
We all know that expressing gratitude is favourable and sharing our thanks with
each other is also fun.

We also have
a face-to-face meet up group. We initially set it up to co-coach each other but
soon realised that it is a great way to support our wider needs. This course is
intense, it changes you, at times its stressful; we all need to remind each
other that it will be OK.

“I
would say trust the process. At times you will feel totally overwhelmed with
the assignments but that is all part of the process. And don’t forget to rest!!”
Sanna Välttilä-Wit

“Relax when you attend
the statistics lecture. It is not you if you feel you don't understand, even me
who had a solid background in stats, they lost me! Just ask your supervisor
what kind of test you need to choose and then focus your research on this only
test.”

As an on
campus student I appreciate the distance learners have their own set of challenges
-

“If you are a distance
learner, try to connect with others - DL or on campus - it feels very
reassuring to be 'together' in spirit at least. I would also recommend trying
to get on campus for at least one weekend, ideally more. Face to face is
positive, clarifying and you get to meet real people!” Paula

The course
has also impacted on my existing relationships, as a full-time student time management
is crucial, not everyone in your life will understand your need to put studying
before them. I have a large colour -coded wall chart in my kitchen with all my university
dates and commitments to independent study mapped out, my family can then
request slots with post-it notes where there are gaps and when friends come by
they can fill in the spaces with another colour post-it. This may seem a bit
OCD but it enables everyone to see that I’m not fobbing them off. And the end
goal is marked with a big get together to say thank you for all the support I have
received from family and friends.

When your
attention is fully focused on a task, hobby, work or person, when you are
totally in the present moment, you go into a state of mind called flow. In this
state you lose track of time and forget about almost everything else, including
your own sense of self. Mindful awareness encourages you to cultivate your
ability to focus and you get into this engaged state more often.The more
often you are in flow, fully engaged the more likely you are to experience
wellbeing.

I haven’t fully
engaged with every topic in every module but when something has ‘clicked’ with
me I have wanted to know everything there is to know about it. At times I have
tipped from engaged to over the top obsession. For me this is most apparent in
my dissertation research. I love my research topic. I am living my research
topic. I became so attached to it that I had a period of about ten days when I
think I may have been suffering from ‘research mania’. It wasn’t pleasant. I had
to be pulled back to reality by a close friend who pointed out that there were
other things to talk about!

This is a tricky
one: research is MEsearch, we all need to be passionate about our topic to
sustain the process; it is a long journey. And one in which we need to get lost
before we can find the path we need to be on.

So be engaged
but listen out for signs of obsessive passion. Losing sense of time is good but
remember to re-engage with others to maintain balance.

Meaning:

I was drawn
to PP to find a way to apply wellbeing theory to myself but also because I really
trust that it is a cause that’s bigger than me; that the science of happiness
is working to improve humanity’s lot in some way, whether on a grand scale or
small steps we can make a difference.

I think that
working out your own niche within PP can be a useful manner in which to look at
your own feelings about a meaningful life. I have had to confront my personal biases,
certain topics have certainly aroused strong antagonistic emotions…hmm that’s interesting,
what’s that about?

Second Wave
PP has forced me to observe my responses to negative emotions; really acknowledging
my reactions when I have engaged mindfully with this course does not always feel
good. There have been tears, anger, and frustration. I have learnt first-hand
that there are times when expressing ‘negative’ feelings can have positive
outcomes.

(On this note
many MAPP(CP) students expressed frustration at UEL administration- but we can
all step back and understand that our feedback leads to change. My experience
is that the staff are always available to listen to issues and respond to them
as best they can.)

Accomplishment:

Achieving a
goal makes you feel great. Being mindful along the way to that end result makes
it enjoyable and emphasizes the importance of the journey to the achievement. Clarifying which goals are important to me,
focusing on those that are achievable, breaking the goal into tangible steps have
saved me from feeling overwhelmed with the responsibility of doing a MSc.

Andrew has
some tips on achieving this:

“Download Mendeley if
you're not already using a reference manager. Read the first 'core' text that's
recommended for each module, but then pick and choose what else you read. Read
as much as you can, but don't get bogged down in trying to read everything”

Getting to
the end of this course will be a massive achievement that I’m planning on celebrating
with a party (see relationships). I also
give myself a pat on the back with each assignment turned in. We encourage each
other on our slack group or Facebook when we have ticked off each step towards
this accomplishment. We also remind ourselves of the value of what we are
doing, not everyone can achieve this goal, and we need to take time to give ourselves
credit for embarking on this challenge.

Tip: I have found google scholar just as helpful as more complex search options.

Positive
emotion:

Joy, hope,
curiosity and love, these emotions are important to enjoy in the present moment
and are an essential element of wellbeing. You can’t feel happy all the time or pursue pleasure at the expense of
meaning, and you won’t when studying MAPP(CP), but there will be ample opportunity
for experiencing positive emotions on this course.

Applying positive
psychology interventions to yourself, being joyfully playful with your
research, feeling constantly curious about what is going on, and loving everything
… and everyone that you encounter…sometimes in a blissed out OMG way. (That’s not
just me is it?) You may also get a sense of extreme positive emotions when you
get your marks back, when you go to the pub and when you finally find the paper
that advises the very research study you have designed. Oh yes and mastering how
to cite correctly, how to input data into SPSS and why IPA isn’t Real Ale are
also moments of joy. Curiosity is aroused every time you search for a room
change, it’s not obvious to me, and hope whenever you turn-it in, fingers
crossed.

But mostly it’s
love; and often its self-love, that you have got this far, made this choice and
having a great time building relationships that will be part of your life for a
long way ahead.

By applying research-based
approaches to wellbeing we acquire the necessary skills to flourish and live a
life of promise, purpose and fulfilment. As MAPP(CP) students we learn how to flourish by
combining mindfulness, character strengths and other PPIs by engaging in our work,
acknowledging a higher sense of meaning
and purpose, understanding physical and psychological wellbeing, and improving
our relationships. I am very grateful to
have had this chance. Thank you UEL.

However last
word to Andrew:

“Remember that a lot of
what you'll be taught will probably be debunked within 10 years! This is new
science, and quite sexy, and a lot of researchers are a bit too quick to get
their TED talk about their latest discovery. There's a serious replication
issue with a lot of this, so don't take anything you're taught as being
'settled science' - it isn't!”

Actually I will
have the last word: You don’t need to be a scientist, settled or otherwise, to
have something worthwhile to contribute to PP. I think the future of PP lies in
its openness and inclusivity, the way in which as a discipline it is looking to
share and collaborate in order to create tangible applications that cross boundaries.
This is great for me as I’m just looking to make people happy when they get
dressed every day!

Monday, 26 September 2016

The Mental
Wealth Festival 2016 took place on 13-15 September 2016 at City Lit in Covent
Garden. The event highlighted the way mental health issues impactmany features of daily life, and how the
arts, politics, culture, faith and the media can support ‘mental wealth’.

I went along
to the City Lit with a full list of workshops and presentations to
attend. The choice was a diverse range of speakers and subjects covering topics
from an academic perspective through to practical skills.

The festival featured
70 events with high profile speakers such as Ruby Wax, Alastair Campbell, Hugh
Grant, Paul Dolan and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor rubbing shoulders with
lesser known but equally exciting presenters.

As is often the case at these
events I feel that attending one session leaves me with the feeling of having
missed out; this festival had it all. And I wanted to do it all! I missed the
chance to witness three members of the House of Lords take part in lunchtime tai-chi,
I didn’t get to any sessions on the links between money and mental health or
get a chance to take part in any of the creative workshops. Therefore this post is skewed as I can only share
personal thoughts of the event. The
festival produced a host of ideas for topics, lists of questions, people I
want to interview and a general feeling of needing to do more. The question that I have been left with relates
to the importance of how we can all raise awareness and reduce stigma around
our mental health?

I shall be
expanding my reflections in future posts, but in a nut shell this is what I discovered:

Sandy Walker, from the
Faculty of Health and Sciences at the University of Southampton, shared the
work that students from Winchester School of Art have produced by collaborating
with the Southampton Neuroscience Group. This project aims to address the
stigma and misconceptions surrounding mental health through fashion design. The
students have an opportunity to visit the neuroscience department and learn
about the brain patterns created in patients with mental health issues such as
bi-polar disease, dementia, and Parkinson’s, they then decide which issue they
wish to learn more about and are connected to someone with the condition via
the Human Library. The final part of the project involves responding to all the
have discovered by producing a garment
that reflects the physiological and psychological, the science and the
human, in clothes that communicate what it is like to have that condition. The
finished garments are a diverse collection. Some students took the images of
the brain to create intricate textile designs, others responded with powerful
garments that restricted the wearer. The collection was shown as a fashion show
and was on show at the city lit during the festival.

Takeaways: Could the model of this collaboration
be used by other fashion education or Art departments to increase awareness of
mental health issues?

How did it
feel to wear the garments?

Can I
interview the models to find out their phenomenological embodied experience of
wearing ‘schizophrenia’ or ‘dementia’?

How did the
human library participants feel about the finished collection?

What was the
lasting impact (if any) on the student who took part?

The resulting
garments were strong and emotional; I felt moved by the stories reworked in
fabric. I had a visceral response, particular as I imagined myself wearing each
outfit and how that would make me feel; trapped, misunderstood, angry, and
vulnerable. The tactile nature of clothes, the way they connect with our bodies
and our emotions, enclothed cognition, can shape different ways to approach
opening up a dialogue about mental health.

Could this
idea be extended to a younger group, school age, to create understanding?

Roger introduced Mike’s work as a graphic artist, his
Ensixteen Editions projects and how he came to be an illustrator for Books
Beyond Words. The relationship between authors (Roger) and illustrators (Mike),
the way in which we translate images into meaning, how we read a blank screen
to create a narrative and what does a picture ‘say’, were all explored in words
and pictures.

The evolution
of an idea into a tangible book charted the collaboration, team work and testing
process involved in the process of creating a book beyond words.

Books Beyond
Words was formed 1989 by Baroness Sheila Hollins to help people with
developmental learning disabilities to understand their emotions, to help
people talk about or understand adult feelings and adult experiences. Forty
five titles have been published since 1989, and all have been co-produced with
people who find pictures easier than words, with family carers, support staff
and professionals.

Books Beyond
Words provide a valuable resource for expanding understanding to a population
who may not be able to access traditional routes to acquire knowledge. Pictures
offer emotions a chance to escape.

How can I use
images in my work to bring about change in my clients or to facilitate
discussions about emotional issues?

What stories
do I tell myself when I see a piece of Art? How do I read an illustration? What
about the artists’ intention?

Continuity of
character by using the same colours throughout make it easier to form a
relationship.

Fiona Wilson, a teacher and lecturer at
St Mary's University, Twickenham, led this workshop to explore how our
perceptions of self are formed by our emotions and how these in turn inform our
patterns of behaviour. Fiona explained how she had moved from Emotional
Literacy to Emotional Wisdom, the value of listening, watching and learning
form children, how we stack our experiences to skew our understanding of ‘now’
and how ninety seconds is all we have of an experience, then rest being
imagination. (The content of this workshop needs 3000 words of its own to do it
justice, I will come back to this later)

How can we
harness reframing to become self-authors of the story we want to create?

We need to
meet ourselves with forgiveness, kindness and compassion

Session: Alastair Campbell, mental
health campaigner and an ambassador for Rethink and Mind in conversation with Mark
Malcomson, Principal of City Lit

Content:

Drawing on his own experiences, Alastair
Campbell discussed his own mental health issues, and how he works to help break
down the stigma around mental illness. He
was exceptionally open about his breakdown, the impact this had on his family
and career and the support he received from colleagues. Tony Blair's response
when Alastair introduced his mental health issues, “I’m not bothered, if you’re
not bothered “, was a lesson in trust and instincts when making decisions. Alastair
explained that he feels experienced mental health problems better qualifies him to take on challenging roles; he has overcome ‘stuff’ in his life, he is
more resilient and understanding. How would it be if we could all be this open
about our emotional battles? What would a world look and feel like if this were
the norm?

Honesty and
openness are the tools for eliminating stigma about mental health issues.

Resilience
can be learnt; it’s about managing your life.

Why don’t we
send get well cards and flowers when people have had a breakdown?

There is a
difference between ‘being humbled’ and ‘being humiliated’.

Session: Professor Paul Dolan, LSE
professor and author of bestselling book Happiness by Design in conversation
with Mark Malcomson, Principal of City Lit

Content:

Paul began by clarifying the confusion around
what we mean by happiness. How in order to create the feeling of life being
good we need to balance the simple pleasure feelings, the positive emotions,
and the purposeful, meaningful sense of fulfilment. He expanded the idea that ‘negative’
emotions can feel ‘good’ that anger can be a driver for change and that it is our
everyday life that makes us happy not necessarily the big things that we think
should make us happy.

We all have a
choice to make life purposeful; it can be whatever works for you.

The human
condition is to seek out meaning.

Reminder:
research is MEsearch.

Academics may
not be so hot on pleasure but expert on purpose.

Find your own
happiness maximiser experiences, they are entirely subjective.

It is healthy
to have appropriate responses to situations.

We need light
touch interventions around sorrow

The narrative
of trauma doesn’t leave room for those
who experience trauma not to experience their life to be devastated.

Session: Reframing the Debate - A Discussion on Press Intrusion

– Katie Traxton

Content:

Katie showed a
short trailer of her documentary on press intrusion. The film reflects on the
feelings of key players almost four years after the Leveson Inquiry. Katie Traxton handles the subject with sensitivity;
she manages to create a sense of healing by allowing the subjects of the film a
platform to share the deep emotions that the media intrusion caused in their
lives. The effects on mental well-being
of the victims of press intrusion deserve more investigation. I would love to
write more about this but the documentary is yet to be released and the feelings
shared in the room at this session were not for public airing

How can we support
victims of press intrusion without furthering the sense that we are consuming
their stories for our own pleasure?

What role
does education have in changing the manner in which we devour sensational news?

Is it
possible to restore ethics in journalism?

What can be
done to assist young journalists when entering the ‘business of media’ so they
are able to challenge the status-quo without fear of losing commissions?

Can Positive
Psychology, and Positive Occupational Psychology enter the spaces in which news
is made to change the culture from the top down?

Session: Empathy in Action-
Baroness Sheila Hollins

Content:

Baroness Hollins shared reflections of
her approach to wellbeing within her life and work, with compassion as ‘empathy
in action’ central to her approach. She asked
us to question our own assumptions about what constitutes a caring society; why
is there a lack of compassion in human services? How could we redress this? How
do you avoid burnout in caring roles? Who looks after the carers? What will
happen if you don’t look after those who are expected to care? When do those inner
resources needed to care for others get a chance to be replenished? Baroness Hollins
belief is that Mental Wealth is about relationships, and in those caring relationships
what is the difference between caring about and caring for?

GRACE is the path to wellbeing: daily practices of giving, receiving,
activity, creating and engagement.

Listening means
you are able to find out what someone wants rather than giving them what you
think they should want.

We can be
taught to be more empathic – training medical students in empathy generates
quicker recovery in patients.

Individual compassion
needs to be supported with an empathic environment.

How can we
create a culture of compassion?

.

Session: Tools To Live By: How to listen and connect to others - with Ruby Wax

Content:

In this culture we’re over-whelmed,
over-loaded, over-stimulated, which takes us out of our minds. Ruby guided
the audience through simple mindfulness practices and explained how mindfulness
helped her to regain her mental wealth. She
talked about how to de-frazzle; techniques to find your own braking system and
highlighted that we can only connect with others when we’re able to think
clearly and calmly.

Gloria Gaynor
was wrong; I am not what I am, I can be other things due to neuroplasticity.

Become a
watcher of thoughts rather than a victim to them. Achieve this by cultivating
mindfulness.

Notice ‘this
are just my thoughts’ and allow a gap between the thinking and the action.

It only takes
five minutes of mindfulness a day to build mindful-muscle.

Walk to get
into your body and out of your mind.

Session: Rachel Kelly “How to Walk on Sunshine” Workshop

Content:

Rachel Kelly asked the audience to
stand if they had experienced mental health problems or had close family or
friends who did. Not surprisingly at an event on mental health, everyone stood
up. She then asked those who felt they had been able to share openly those
experiences to remain standing, there were a handful who didn’t sit. Rachel’s journey back from depression and stress
related mental health problems involved a variety of strategies relating to both
body and mind. During this workshop we were able to experience a taster of some
of the things which worked for Rachel and which can easily be incorporated in
to daily life. Rachel’s steps are simple, don’t require time or money and can
be adapted to make for personal habits that help our Mental Wealth, fostering
resilience and making life fun again.

Technically not a session,#MentalMovement
had a stand at the festival but as I spent over an hour talking to the
founders, Steph and Emma, I felt as if I had been at a presentation. I hope they are able to deliver a keynote speech
next year because the work they are doing is, in my opinion, fundamental to changing
the way we can change views on mental health when we enable creativity,
communication, and collaboration to flourish.

#MentalMovement wants to challenge and
re-address the way mental health is dealt with and portrayed. It is online
platform created by writers who have been or are currently, struggling with or
have had a personal experience of mental health.

The stories
are inspiring, uplifting, funny, engaging and the content is positive in its
approach to mental well-being, there is nothing preachy about what they do. #MentalMovement
also looks great, the design is fresh and appealing, and the print version
should be in every venue where young people gather. If I were a student I wouldn’t
feel so alone if I spotted someone else reading #MentalMovement even if I didn’t quite have the courage to
ask how that person felt, I would feel that we are all in this together. There is
something powerfully enlightening in #MentalMovement

Can mental health
content be approached in a new way without demeaning the pain of the actual
experience?

What do we
need to do to reach young people in their own spaces to make it Ok to share?

Being brave
can sometimes be overwhelming?

How can I
listen in a way that doesn’t feel intrusive?

What is the
most effective way to support people when they are in the turmoil of mental
confusion?

Which Positive
Psychology Interventions, if any, are most suitable to be adapted in order to
be relevant to this section of society?

How can we make
the way easier in the future to accept that mental health is part of life and
that sharing our stories of troubled times decreases the power they have over
us?

Final Thoughts

I meet some
incredibly inspiring people who were very honest and willing to share their
mental health challenges. This event was unique (in my experience) in creating
a community of individuals all being given an equal voice to express their
opinions on how we create, change and tackle our individual well being, as well
as how we manage collective mental wealth. I heard experts share personal
stories of battling with depression, anxiety and addiction alongside the views
of mental health service ‘users’ who have a treasure trove of ideas as to improving the manner in which
they could be helped towards better well-being. I saw raw emotions expressed
with authenticity and received with non-judgement and compassion. The festival felt like a micro-climate of a
caring culture of mental health, a way forward to create a vision of a safe
environment in which we are allowed to communicate the full range of humanness.
As a positive psychologist others occasionally assume I don’t do ‘negative
feelings’, PP however poses questions relating to the way we need the full rich
range of emotions in order to flourish; to embrace every aspect of our
psychologically make up in order to explore the potential we all have. The Mental Wealth Festival challenged me to
examine my personal beliefs and attitudes towards my own, and others mental well-being. There is so much we can do to
get this message out. Thank you to everyone involved in creating the Mental
Wealth Festival.

Takeaway: What can I do to help?

As an
individual I start with myself; I can share my stories, my hopes, and my
strategies for mental wealth. I can lead by example.

As a
researcher I can find ways to make my studies relevant and tangible to increase
others mental wealth.

As a coach I
can be there to listen and support.

I can always
lighten the burden by bringing the topic around to the positive impact of shoes
on our mental health. (Which I did at the end of Paul Dolan’s talk hence the
photo!)

I’m not a
social media ‘expert’ (my tee-shirt states ‘I don’t know’) but I do feel that
it can be harnessed to get a positive message across - Is there a story you
would like to share that could help others? I’d love to help you to share it.

Tuesday, 13 September 2016

Being a bit of a ‘wannabe’ academic I like attend anything and everything in London which will further my understanding of psychology. This week I went along to the London & Home counties branch of the British Psychology Society to find out more about applying psychology research to my own life. The ‘Applied’ aspect of the MAPPCP I am studying is my favourite feature of the course, given a chance I will experiment on myself all the time. Any new intervention I come across is added to my growing list of ‘How to be Happy’. There is no rationale for this, whatever works for me I apply. I didn’t conduct a baseline test of my SWB before MAPP but I have a feeling that I have grown in wellbeing whilst studying at UEL; I’m bouncier , more confident, even cheerier than I previously was. I feel more ME.

The first
speaker was Christian Jarrett, sharing tips for using psychology to get people
to do what you want. Not in the least unethical apparently. We are allowed as
Psychologists to use this knowledge to get our own way. Isn’t that
amazing? We can legitimately carry out
slightly dodgy ‘studies’ to prove that people’s power of persuasion can be
replicated. My favourite piece of research that Christian shared related to
some male French researchers getting girls phone numbers or asking them to
dance by lightly touching them on the arm. Waiters also use this trick to get a
bigger tip!

It’s also very useful to know that if you
apologise for the rain then ask if you can borrow someone’s phone they are more
likely to comply and you if scare someone before asking for a favour they may
well agree as fear creates a distraction. Playing happy background music that
is familiar to the listener has a similar power and you can ward off possible
muggers by utilising the theory of interpersonal complementarity.

My takeaway was
people are more obedient than you think and you are more persuasive than you
think, but at the end of the day manners and saying please when asking for a request
really does the trick.

I’m wondering
how to incorporate all of the above into getting my own way more often so if I
bump into you in the street and pretend I know you, touch your arm as I say
sorry for the awful weather whilst humming ‘singing in the rain’ then ask to borrow a fiver please …well
you’ve been warned!

The second
speaker of the evening was Dr Aneta Tunariu who spoke of her own experiences in learning to become a psychologist and how she applied each aspect of her
training to her own life. The phrase that really resonated with me was ‘to
develop professionally is to develop personally’. I feel that the process of being in positive psychology education has made me
a better person; I am not only more intellectually aware but my emotional
intelligence is greater, in applying PP
interventions to my own life I am becoming the version of myself I had hoped was there all along. In overcoming my academic limitations I have
“strengthened and expanded my resilience as an adaptation to the environment” which Aneta explains as happening when we are
mindful of -

What I am

What I can

What I have

Choice: responsibility to choose and my own choice.

Aneta also
talked of the links with positive emotions, wellbeing and personal growth,
sharing Barabra Fredricksons research results and how they can be applied. I need to work on getting my positivity ratio up to the magic 3:1!

iNEAR is Aneta's recently designed psychological intervention informed by existential philosophy, positive psychology, developmental coaching, social psychology and psychotherapy. It has been successfully piloted at a large school in South East England and is also being tested as a framework for positive psychology coaching.

My favourite
takeaway from her presentation was her parting slide ‘ We first develop habits
then habits develop us’. I think one of the ways that I have applied research
based lessons to my own personal growth is by acquiring the habit of
mindfulness and mindfulness has developed me towards being kinder, more
compassionate, more understanding and I have gained greater clarity. Good
habits make us happy. If research can inform us how to cultivate habits that
make us, and the world around us, better then I will happily try them out and
may even try to come up with some new studies to provide supporting evidence.

I would love to hear how you make research work for you? Have you tried any awesome PPIs? Does your own research provide you with new ways of being?Let me know what works and how?